AMANDLA NEWSPAPER: JULY 2011

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Amandla Founded October 2003

Volume 10 Issue 7 Global African Newspaper Telephone: 973-419-0073 / 973-731-1339

Ghana: A ew Twist in Dual ationality Law By Kofi Ayim Ghanaians who took citizenship of different nations before the Amended Act on Dual Citizenship of December 16, 1996 cannot be granted (Ghana) citizenship upon application, according to Ghana’s Interior Ministry. The Act (Act 527 of the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana) which came into effect January 1997 has neither retroactive date of implementation nor a grandfathering clause. The amended Article 8 (1) states: “A citizen of Ghana may hold the citizenship of any other country in addition to his citizenship of Ghana.” In a telephone conversation, Mr. David Agorsor, a Director at Ghana’s Ministry of Interior pointed out that any Ghanaian who acquired the citizenship of another nation prior to the amendment of Article 8 of Ghana’s Constitution ceased to be a Ghanaian. The law on dual citizenship before the amendment states in part: “Subject to this Article, (1992 Con-

stitution) a citizen of Ghana shall cease forthwith to be a citizen of if, on attaining the age of twenty one years, he, by a voluntary act, other than marriage, acquires or retains the citizenship of a country other than Ghana.” But the Citizenship Act 2000 (Act 591) Part III 16 (3) (b) under which the Ministry of Interior applied in the attached letter states: “A citizen of Ghana who acquires the citizenship of another country in addition to his Ghanaian citizenship shall notify in writing the acquisition of the additional citizenship to the Minister in such form and such manner as may be prescribed.” However, under this same Act 591 and Section 16 (5): “A citizen who has lost his citizenship as a result of the law in Ghana which prohibited the holding of dual citizenship by a Ghanaian may on an application to the Minister be issued with a certificate of citizenship which shall be effective from the date of issue.” The application of this section seems to be muted in

Victoria Street, a one-way exit off Route 22 East that bisects Empire Street and empties into Frelinghuysen is now known as “Ghanaian Way.” The proclamation of “Ghanaian Way” by Newark Municipal Council is to honor the Ghanaian community in Newark, New Jersey. The naming ceremony held June 25 was characterized with pomp and pageantry and attracted Ghanaians and other Africans from the tri-state metro area to the Washington D.C. metro area. For the second time in many years

Bronx Church Attains Self-governing Status

Continued on page 5

Traditional chiefs in the Ghanaian community were present at the renaming of Victoria Street as the Ghanaian Way at this same location, Ghanaians demonstrated their nationalism with pride and ecstasy just as they did when Ghana beat the United States 2-1 at the 2008 World Cup Soccer Tournament in South Africa. Incidentally, it was the victory and its charged attendant jubilations that brought both the Newark Police and the area’s Councilman Ras Baraka to maintain peace and order. The culmination and aftermath of the encounter precipitated the idea of “Ghanaian Way.” In an opening address Councilman Baraka paid glowing tribute to Africa Heritage and asserted that “when we (Africans) celebrate, we

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interpretation. Mr. Agorsor lamented that the previous government implemented wholesale dual citizenship without taking into consideration the amended Article 8. “That’s the biggest problem for us” he added. He inferred that it is just prudent to turn around and do the right thing, even if mistakes had already been made. He said those who slipped through the cracks to obtain their citizenship would not be stripped of it, but “if you lose your (citizenship) card, we’ll tell you that you did not qualify in the first place.” Mr. Agorsor affirmed that by Article 6 of Ghana’s Constitution, children of disqualified Ghanaian parent(s) are still Ghanaian citizens. The said Article 6 states inter alia: “A person born in or outside Ghana after the coming into force of this Constitution (1992) shall become a citizen of Ghana at the date of his birth if either of his parents or grandparents is or was a citizen of Ghana.

“Ghanaian Way” Inaugurated in Newark, NJ

By Kofi Ayim

July 15 - August 16, 2011

call the heavens down to earth, and today we celebrate in glory to Africa that we left as kings and queens and will go back as kings and queens.” He suggested “the way we talk, walk, and dance has roots from Africa.” The Southward Councilman recounted his early childhood development within the context of African personality and pride as hallmark of his family. He saluted Alhaji Ibrahim Adams for dreaming up the idea to honor Ghana with the stretch of street. Congressman Donald M. Payne Snr., praised the evolving democratic dispensation currently Continued on page 5

Rev. Dr. Kwame Amoah-Kuma, Pastor of the Emmanuel Presbyterian Reform Chuch in the Bronx in happily welcoming the congregation and guests to the chartering ceremony for the church on May 22, 2011 Kwabena Opong Bronx, Sunday, May 22: A milestone in the development of African Christian missionary activity in the United States was achieved on Sunday, May 22, 2011. The Emmanuel Presbyterian Reformed Church (EPRC) in the Bronx was chartered as an independent congregation within the Reformed Church of America (RCA) and the Presbyterian Church of United States of America ( PCUSA). The protracted and elaborate ceremony which attracted clergy and lay persons from the Presbyterian Churches in the USA and Ghana and the Reformed Church of America marked the end of more than a decade of existing under the aegis of the PCUSA and the RCA. Historically, what is now EPRC is a breakaway entity from what started as the Presbyterian Church of Ghana Mission (PCGM) further to a conflict as to whether to remain as an affiliate of the PCUSA and the RCA or the PCGM in 2003. The EPRC has since then grown into a full-fledged congregation affiliated to both the PCUSA and RCA and the PCGM which continues to supply ministers to perform pastoral work. The chartering event signified the cooperation that exists between the PCUSA and the RCA on one hand and the PCG on the other. The current minister of EPRC, Rev. Dr. Kwame Amoah-Kuma is on posting from the PCG. On hand to preach the keynote sermon was the immediate past moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rev. Dr. Yaw Frimpong Manso who flew in from Australia for the ceremony. Dr. Frimpong-Manso paid tribute to Rev. Amoah-Kuma and his wife, the elders and deaconate of the church and his sincere gratitude to the PCUSA and the RCA for partnering with the PCG in the global initiative of bringing a minister from Ghana to work with the congregation to the level chartering. The theme for the keynote sermon was

“Empowered by the Holy Spirit for effective Witness in the Diaspora.” Rev. Frimpong-Manso reminded the congregation to see themselves as one people under the non-discriminatory and universal injunction that recognizes all Christian believers and humanity without discrimination. He said that “the essential functions of the Church are Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship and Mission.” He described mission work as a whole-hearted devotion to the Lord God. “in worship, we live out our deep commitment to love and share our gifts, means and our abilities with one another. In discipleship, we follow the call of the Lord Jesus to obey and to teach … we proclaim the Gospel to all people and minister to human needs as Jesus did,” he added. Christians as a community of faith practice accountability among themselves, while as a covenant community within the reform tradition “we also believe in the supremacy of God.” The former moderator mentioned God’s recognition of the institution of government and secular power properly constituted but also believed that the Church has a “say in the affairs of the nations and in the way people are governed. For effective ChurchState relations and for the Church to have a positive impact on society, the Church needs a firm grip on the Word of God and absolute trust in Christ and must be empowerment of the Holy Spirit.” The Church, he said rejects all acts of violence which devalues human life and “rather affirms active peacekeeping, participation and equitable distribution in the means of grace and the resources provided by God, sacrificial service to others as well as the pursuit of justice for the poor, the oppressed and the weak by playing proper roles of prophetic utterance and advocacy.” Rev. Frimpong-Manso called on the Church to share the Gospel in every culture and stratum of society through discipleship Continued on page 5


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